PC Gaming

I've been using a pair of Sennheiser HD210s for closer to 10 years. Light and comfy and decent audio quality for the price.

Steelseries arctics 7

Reasonably comfortable, reasonably priced (if you catch a sale about $100usd), good mic with monitoring, wireless, but most importantly: they just work. I’ve had the same pair for 5ish years and have never had to troubleshoot.

I've been using my Sennheiser HD 598 s for over 10 years. I'd recommend anything the same shape/size: being large over ears means it doesn't touch or squeeze your ears at all. Being open backed and velvet padded stop my ears getting hot and sweaty. Being wired saves weight, prevents lag/quality concerns and isn't too big a deal in a stationary gaming situation.

I do need to use an external mic for chatting, which is not ideal if you're gonna be always in voice chats when gaming. Dedicated gaming headsets tend to not sound as good for the same price, but can't deny the convenience.

Here is a recent rundown of recommendations by audiophile youtubers for gaming headphones might be worth watching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIwgVzSiZ68

Sennheiser pc38x if you want a headset, I've just been using monoprice bt600ancs with a vmoda boom mic on it. They're fine, it's ye old v shape in terms of frequency response.

The pc38xs were nice. They are open back so if bleed is a concern, be mindful. (The pc38xs were my friend's headset, I just tried them when I visited)

I tried a bunch of different gaming headsets over the years but as I got older and gave up on online games, I grabbed a pair of AudioTechnica ATH-M50 and have probably had them at least a decade now. They're closed ear studio monitor headphones so they sound great and are comfortable with long use. I've replaced both the cushions and the cable and they still work great.

I think the current variant is the ATH-M50x.

I just replaced my headphones with a set of these https://global.beyerdynamic.com/dt-770-pro-x-limited-edition.html

They're so comfortable and sound incredible, they're mostly intended for audio work which I do use them for but for gaming they're so precise and clear too! Also incredibly comfy and loads of aftermarket stuff available for the dt700 pro x which are also excellent.

You'll want a mic with these and I can also recommend this if you want a headset style mic rather than a standalone one on your desk: https://antlionaudio.com/collections/microphones

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned https://www.rtings.com/headphones

They specifically analyze headphones for comfort and audio quality among many other qualities.

They have a table view mode where you can filter down to exactly what kind of headphones you are interested in buying and then make a selection from the results set.

I just purchased a pair of these a few weeks ago, and I love them: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/philips/fidelio-x2hr

I specifically filtered down to headphones with a low latency wired connection by adding a column to the table view, and I didn't need an included microphone.

If you must have a microphone included, the best headphones you can buy currently that have a low latency wired connection are the Astro A40's, but they had less than stellar treble I believe. Check the detailed review.

I've had the HyperX Cloud for 3 or 4 years and really like them. It felt a little uncomfortable for the first week or so after switching from a crappy cheap SteelSeries headset because of how good the soundproofing is. I bought my brother the Cloud II and he also likes it.

AKG K371. Affordable (although it's gone up since the pandemic), comfortable, and follows the Harman curve closely so will be pleasing to most ears even without EQ.

HyperX Cloud Alpha is the most comfortable I've used - could wear those all day, no pressure points. Sound quality is fantastic, largely due to the closed-back design.

And if you're not already familiar with the difference between open- and closed-back headphones, definitely learn it! Something not often discussed in headset articles is how YOU sound when wearing them. It's a bit weird to describe, but you ofc hear yourself when you speak, and something that alters how you're supposed to sound can be jarring as fuck.

The you sound when you speak without having anything on your head or in your ears, would be most comparable to open-back headphones.

If you plug your ears and then speak, you'll sound weird, and hearing yourself sound weird can make speaking feel weird.

...idk if I'm doing a good job putting this to words. For real, just stick your fingers in your ears and start saying a few sentences, you'll hear what I mean.

I did NOT know the difference when I got my HyperX's, and it took a while to get used to speaking with them on. Had I known the difference, I probably would have looked for an open-back model instead. I love em now, but again it did take a bit to get there.

KSC75 with yaxi pads and headband because it is light and comfortable even when it is hot. And it's cheap.

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 DAC, then any decent studio headphones, I use a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-m50x’s. I use a separate mic connected with an xlr cable to the dac. I could never go back to a combined “gaming” headset.

I've been running a pair of Sennhesiser PC 350's for something like 10 years now? Not sure. I used to game a lot more than I do now and eventually the ear cushions started falling apart. I was dreading replacing them though, and ended up getting some replacement cushions from Amazon or something. Was super easy to replace and they've been like new for the last year now. I'm a hardwire all of the things type person, and generally a cheapass so yeah, overall happy with this purchase!

I used Audeze Mobius for years until the yoke inevitably cracked. I exchanged it for a Maxwell which I've mostly left in the box since I also acquired a VZR Model One. It has a metal headband and is a passive, analog headset so very few digital parts to go wrong.

I miss my Siberia Icemats. Those things were great.

I had a Plantronics RIG I won in a drawing I didn't even know I was entered in, but it wasn't that comfortable. One of those over the ear styles, but the cups were small so it just squeezed your ears instead of sit comfortably around them. But other than that, they were pretty amazing. Even came with a DAC.

Currently I have a Sony WH-XB910N but it's just headphones. It does technically have a mic for using handsfree with a phone, but even though it shows up on PC as an input device, it doesn't actually pick anything up so I can't use it as a headset when gaming 😮‍💨

Astro A50, can wear it all day wireless and I barely even notice I wear them. Also easy to mute your mic when you want to. The sound quality also seems quite in order to me including the mic. Though please cross check that only with the true audiophiles. If this one ever breaks down I will definitely by another one.

Corsair HS70

I have a set of Hifiman HE1000s. A little overkill, but damn, Tetris Effect is so fun to play with these headphones.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, the Koss KSC75 are a favourite since they're compact, comfy, and sound great. Also, $20. Can't go wrong. Great for pretty much anything with a headphone jack, like the portable audio players that everyone has in their pocket nowadays, haha! Yeah.

I've got seinheisser 598 that are quite good, but I understood seinheisser to have been bought and maybe quality went down. I also have byerdynamic 990s that I find uncomfortable for longer periods.

I also have hifiman sundara that are (except for the cable) far and above the best headphones I've ever had both in comfort and sound.

There's a person on the bapcsales Canada reddit called lifelongcaboose who seems to really know their headphones that recommended them

I recently got myself a Teufel Zola on a sale and am really satisfied with it. It has good audio (as far as I can tell), is comfortable and looks nice.

i got the starfield xbox bluetooth headset. they work pretty well only complaint is having to charge it after a while

I've been using AKG Q701s for well over a decade. They're hard to drive, but extremely comfortable and the sound quality far surpasses anything under $500. I like that they're open-ear and breathable - I forget that I have them on. I've gotten to the point of buying several backup sets on Ebay any time a good deal pops up, just to make sure I'll be able to use this same model for the rest of my life in case something happens.

The Q701 model is technically no longer produced, but K702 is identical other than the headband style. They retail around $150.